The Parisian artist’s intimate portraits of 19th-century life demonstrate masculinity in flux
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Gustave Caillebotte is best known for his views of city streets, but this exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay delves deep into his fascination with the male portrait. Almost 70% of the modern painter’s figures are male, in contrast to the predominantly female or mixed subjects of his contemporaries such as Manet and Degas. Offering a window into changing perceptions of masculinity during the 19th century, this timely exhibition highlights Caillebotte’s contributions to impressionism alongside his interest in challenging accepted social and sexual mores.
Caillebotte’s ability to portray both the urgency of urban life and the quiet introspection of his male figures is demonstrated in some 144 artworks, including radical subjects such as a man dressing and laborers planing a wooden floor. The monumental “Paris Street; Rainy Day,” (1877) depicting members of the bourgeoisie at a busy city intersection and considered the artist’s most important work, is on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition follows the recent acquisition by its co-organizers of two other major Caillebotte paintings: “Boating Party” (1877-78), by the Musée d’Orsay, and “Young Man at His Window” (1876) by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Image: Gustave Caillebotte, “The Floor Planers”, 1875 © Musée d’Orsay, dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
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